Numerous attempts have been made to automatically collect nestable cups into groups or stacks of equal numbers as they come off manufacturing lines. One of the greatest problems encountered was getting succeeding cups to reliably telescope into or onto the end of the preceding cup. Usually the devices involved a conveyor having a support belt under the stack of cups and a retention belt which extended over the top of the stack of cups and contacted the underlying portions of the cup rims. Since the cups were confined between the overlying and underlying belts, the conveyor was difficult to clear in the event of jams or other malfunctions.
The present invention provides conveying and nesting means which do not require the use of an overlying belt. As a result the top of the applicant's conveying and nesting system is open, thus giving an operator free access to the nested cups. Reliable nesting is achieved by a combination of means, including a plurality of conveyor segments comprising interjoined pairs of belts driven by a drive train that allows the separate segments to be operated at different speeds simultaneously.